Clinical Coria outguns Agassi

IN a French Open battle of the ages, Guillermo Coria punched a hole clean through Andre Agassi's steel defences to reach his first grand slam semi-final yesterday.

One match short of his 1,000th as a professional, Agassi could scarcely have faced a man who hits the ball harder or with as much accuracy as the unassuming Argentine who triumphed 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in a fraction over two-and-a-half hours.

"It's incredible, a dream come true to be here in the Roland Garros semi-finals," the 21-year-old said.